I have had a hard time adjusting to the idea of being back in a world of decisions and choices. McMurdo sort of wraps you in a security blanket and keeps you safe from the issues of the world around us. We are not forced to indulge in the consumerism of the grocery store or malls, and we can avoid the news around the globe if we choose to.
In any case, I had a treat on the plane on the way home; a continuation from my flight deck privileges from the previous post: I was able to sit in the cockpit for landing in Christchurch! In a place and time in the world where no one gets to see the cockpit, much less sit there for landing, I was thrilled to be strapped into the seat behind the co-pilot! I listed to the radio chatter between the tower and the our co-pilot and to the conversations of the crew.
We came into New Zealand as the sun was sinking in the sky and I was impressed at how the rivers glowed under the bright sun. For a woman who hasn't seen a sunset in four months, this was pretty exciting and impressive from my perch in the plane. The pilot pointed out Akaroa, and Lyttleton, the port town that hosts our cargo container ship,
The American Tern, when it departs for and returns from McMurdo. Seeing the runway in front of us for landing was very impressive as well. I got a front row seat in a huge cargo plane as we touched down at sunset. What a huge kick-start to life in the living world!
After gathering our bags and checking through customs, we walk over to the USAP buildings and turn in our gear and get our accommodations for the night. On our walk, the huge moon had risen in the sky. Nevermind that we didn't get to see the eclipse like many people in North America did, we hadn't seen the moon in a night sky (or at all) for months! I collected my gear and took a shuttle to the YMCA.
They have a nice clean hostel there and I dumped my stuff to head out for the evening at Ducs-De-Lux. It's a popular hangout for Ice folks and they were one of the few places open yet at 10pm for food. J ordered some of our favorite, kumara chips (like french fries out of kumara; similar to the sweet potato).
In any case, I had a treat on the plane on the way home; a continuation from my flight deck privileges from the previous post: I was able to sit in the cockpit for landing in Christchurch! In a place and time in the world where no one gets to see the cockpit, much less sit there for landing, I was thrilled to be strapped into the seat behind the co-pilot! I listed to the radio chatter between the tower and the our co-pilot and to the conversations of the crew.
We came into New Zealand as the sun was sinking in the sky and I was impressed at how the rivers glowed under the bright sun. For a woman who hasn't seen a sunset in four months, this was pretty exciting and impressive from my perch in the plane. The pilot pointed out Akaroa, and Lyttleton, the port town that hosts our cargo container ship, The American Tern, when it departs for and returns from McMurdo. Seeing the runway in front of us for landing was very impressive as well. I got a front row seat in a huge cargo plane as we touched down at sunset. What a huge kick-start to life in the living world!
After gathering our bags and checking through customs, we walk over to the USAP buildings and turn in our gear and get our accommodations for the night. On our walk, the huge moon had risen in the sky. Nevermind that we didn't get to see the eclipse like many people in North America did, we hadn't seen the moon in a night sky (or at all) for months! I collected my gear and took a shuttle to the YMCA.
They have a nice clean hostel there and I dumped my stuff to head out for the evening at Ducs-De-Lux. It's a popular hangout for Ice folks and they were one of the few places open yet at 10pm for food. J ordered some of our favorite, kumara chips (like french fries out of kumara; similar to the sweet potato).
2 comments:
Welcome back! I look forward to reading about your travels through Australia and New Zealand again this year.
Yeah! Welcome to real land!!!
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